Big investors have been snapping up foreclosed homes and turning them into rentals. Now some of those investors are hoping to capitalize on their distressed buys -- and share the spoils with the general public -- by going public.

Starting today, checks are on the way to victims of wrongful foreclosures as part of a $3.6 billion settlement between banks and federal regulators. But for most of those borrowers, it won’t exactly be Christmas in April.